


Look What Came Down the Chimney

by Penguina



Category: Gotham (TV)
Genre: Christmas, Cozy, Established Relationship, Family Christmas, Fluff, Hattercrow - Freeform, Hattercrow as parents, Holidays, Jonathan Crane is Santa, Love, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Nygmobblepot, Oswald Cobblepot is Santa, Presents, Santa Claus - Freeform, Who even is Santa?, Winter, celebration, holiday fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-10
Updated: 2018-12-10
Packaged: 2019-09-15 23:20:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,104
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16942638
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Penguina/pseuds/Penguina
Summary: Christmas at the Crane-Tetch family. Jonathan and Jervis are ready to do anything to give their daughter a happy magical Christmas to remember. Even if at times it clashes with their own comfort. It's worth it just to see little Alice so excited by the surprises her parents and family friends have prepared for her. But most of all, she's extremely happy to meet Santa! ... even if it's only Uncle Penguin in a red suit.Basically this fic is a holiday fluff. Also my first Hattercrow fic with a little Nygmobblepot thrown in because, come on, it's me.Happy holidays to everyone!





	Look What Came Down the Chimney

**Author's Note:**

> Requested by [Boossuet](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Boossuet/pseuds/Boossuet) who pointed out the astonishing lack of Hattercrow as parents fics.

_ ‘Twas the night before Christmas, when all through the house _

_ Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; _

_ The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, _

_ In hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there; _

_... _

_ But I heard him exclaim, ere he drove out of sight, _

_ “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night.” _

 

“Oh, papa! This story is so lovely!” Little Alice chimed with her darling voice. “Read it again! Read it again!” 

 

Jonathan chuckled to himself and opened the book one more time. “Alright, dear. Since it’s the night before Christmas. But only once and then you go to bed.” 

 

Alice immediately pouted, looking very sad. Jonathan was thoughtful for a moment and then leaned in to whisper into his little daughter’s ear. 

 

“You know how daddy gets when we read any book other than  _ Alice in Wonderland _ ,” he reminded her. 

 

The girl laughed full heartedly, amused by the memory of Jervis’ outrage. She wrapped her arms tighter around her father’s shoulders and leaned her head on his chest. “Alright,” she yawned a little. “I’m ready to hear it just one more time and then I’ll go to--,” another yawn, “-- to bed.” 

 

Jonathan stroke her head, smoothing her hair, and started the book again. 

 

~*~ 

 

Jervis was finishing up the Christmas dinner for tomorrow. Or at least he did the best he could with it. He was good in the kitchen but cooking turkey wasn’t his forte. Ironically he was much better at preparing tea parties. He was called the Mad Hatter for a reason, after all. When things got really annoying for him by the oven he decided it was time to call his husband for help. 

 

“Jon, you grew up in the South, you must know how to co--” he stopped in his tracks when he saw Jonathan reading aloud while their daughter was snuggled  _ and asleep  _ in his embrace. Jervis chuckled. “You do realize she’s already sleeping, right?” he asked with a teasing smirk. “Why are you still reading this?” 

 

Jonathan glanced down at their daughter’s face, then looked back up at his husband. “Of course I  _ knew  _ she’s already sleeping,” he insisted. “Perhaps I was curious how the story ends.” 

 

Jervis took a quick glance at the book title. “ _ The Night Before Christmas _ ? Yeah. You were  _ very  _ curious.” 

 

Jon couldn’t help the small smile on his lips as he carefully closed the book and put it away, mindful not to wake little Alice in the process. 

 

“Let’s take her to her room,” Jervis said with a nod. 

 

The two terrors of Gotham started to fumble and tumble around their home as they tried to carefully carry the little girl back to her her room without waking her up. When they placed her on the bed they tucked her in, gave her a goodnight kiss (even though she was already asleep and couldn't really tell), and then both just stood there by her bed for a few moments, admiring her. She was their pride and joy, their most precious sweetheart, the love of their lives. She was the reason they were actually cautious not to get killed or arrested every other day of the year while doing their job of terrorizing Gotham. Alice was special for them. She was their everything. 

 

Finally Jervis elbowed Jon. “Kitchen. The turkey needs you.” 

 

~*~ 

 

“I’m offended really,” Jonathan said, putting his arms on his waist. “You simply assumed that just because I grew up in the South I’m suddenly an expert in homemade turkeys?” 

 

He did his best to look upset and even slightly frustrated, enough to give his husband a bit of a scare. It was all just teasing, of course, but Jonathan couldn’t help it. He loved giving his husband a bit of a fright every now and then. Poor Jervis didn’t take rejection very well. Even the slightest hint of being rejected threw him in a horrible mental state. It was delicious and very curious from a psychological point of view. 

 

Jon waited patiently for the words to sink in and take effect, and fair enough Jervis was soon hysterical. 

 

“Aaaaargh!” he gasped desperately, his hair bouncing around his face every time he jolted his head. “I never meant to offend you, darling! You know I only meant it as a compliment to your cooking! I  _ love  _ your cooking! Your cooking is the best cooking in all worlds! Better even than my best tea!” 

 

Jon smirked. “Better than your best tea?” he repeated. “You’ve never used that one before. My turkey cooking skills must have really impressed you.” 

 

Jervis nodded enthusiastically as Jon took a few long strides with his long skinny legs and wrapped his arms around his husband’s shoulders. Time for the cure for the fright. “I’m glad you like my cooking,” he cooed and gave his husband a gentle kiss on the lips. 

 

Jervis kissed back, grinning excitedly, and the two continued with the food preparations together, working as a well-oiled machine. It was quite cozy and pleasant really. Definitely better than Jervis doing it all on his own. 

 

However, Jonathan seemed rather thoughtful that night, like he wasn’t really there, so Jervis had to ask, “Something the matter, pumpkin?” 

 

Jon shook his head. “No, it’s not that, just… Alice really likes this book.” 

 

“ _ The Night Before Christmas?  _ Pfft, she’s young. She’ll grow out of it,” Jervis said with hope. 

 

Jon had to suppress a smile before proceeding with what was truly on his mind. “She seems fond of the idea of St. Nicholas.” 

 

Jervis rolled his eyes. “I never understood that. I mean, what’s the fascination with having a stranger sliding down your chimney and giving you presents in exchange for cookies and milk. It doesn’t sound very sane. Or healthy. And people  _ actually  _ like it,” he rolled his eyes one more time. “Then they say  _ I’m _ crazy.” 

 

Jon didn’t even try to hide his fond smile this time. “I agree with you, darling. But she’s at the age when she likes it. So I was thinking…”  

 

Jervis froze. “Oh, dear. No. You’re not really thinking of...” 

 

“I am indeed thinking of...” Jon nodded. 

 

“But if you’re truly thinking of… then this means…” 

 

Jon silently confirmed and Jervis pouted with a whine. “But you’re too thin to dress up like Santa Claus!” he exclaimed. “Besides, red is  _ definitely  _ not your color. You’re gonna hate it!” 

 

“I know. And I  _ am  _ gonna hate it.  _ With passionate devotion.  _ But. I want to make Alice laugh. She has the most wonderful laughter.” 

 

Jervis had to agree with his husband on that point. They both wanted to give their daughter only the best experiences. Jervis took a step closer to wrap his arms around his Scarecrow’s waist and press their foreheads together. “I want that too,” he hummed. 

 

“So… Tomorrow, at Christmas, we do this?” 

 

Jervis nodded with a smile. “Tomorrow, at Christmas, we do this,” he agreed. 

 

~*~  

 

Everyone were invited on Scarecrow and Hatter’s special Christmas dinner. Well, everyone  _ important _ . Catwoman, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, Penguin, Riddler, even Joker was invited, though everyone seemed relieved when he refused to come. Apparently he had some super secret plans for Christmas that even Harley didn’t know about. Knowing Joker, though, it probably had something to do with the Bat. Bane, Killer Croc, Clayface, and the others didn’t give the impression of the cozy Christmas celebration type so their invitations got lost in the mail. Everything was perfect! Just the lovely peaceful holiday atmosphere the Crane-Tetch family was hoping for! Alice received lots of lovely gifts from her family and the family friends, she then gave everyone the gifts she had prepared for them. There was merry laughter, delicious food, a fireplace, tea and Christmas hats, _ lots  _ of Christmas hats (Jervis’ special project). In short, it was a wonderful Christmas. The only thing missing… 

 

“Where’s uncle Penguin?” Alice asked with a frown as she looked around with concern. She was holding a small square box in her hands with a purple ribbon -- her present for Oswald Cobblepot, no doubt. “I thought he was coming too,” she tilted her head at her uncle Riddler. 

 

“Well, he  _ is  _ joining us soon,” Riddler reassured her, glancing at Jervis. “He had a few chores to finish before coming here but he’ll come as soon as he’s done.”  

 

“Promise?” the little girl asked hopefully. She loved her uncle Penguin so very much. He always brought her the most amazing gifts, he let her pet his birds and play with his cool top hat. Daddy never let her play with  _ his  _ hats, they were too special for that. 

 

“I promise,” Edward nodded with a smile.  

 

Suddenly a noise came from the roof and everyone were abruptly on edge, ready for an attack. The noise continued, as if someone was walking on the roof, and then snow, lots of snow, started falling down the chimney, extinguishing the fire. A few grunts, a few more strange noises from the roof, and everyone gasped in stunned surprise as they watched a sack of some sort drop down from the chimney where the fire used to be burning a moment ago. It was followed by more grunts and a short chubby man dressed in red, with black shiny boots and long white beard. 

 

Alice instantly recognized him! “Santa! Santa!” she clapped her hands with a happy excitement, hugging all the guests in her desire to share her joy with them. “Look, everybody, it’s Santa!” 

 

The little girl hurried to the fireplace to help the jolly old man get out of it (he seemed a little stuck) and get him back up to his feet again. He looked quite out of breath, panting for a few minutes and not doing much else. Sliding down the chimney must have been really difficult and exhausting for him. 

 

Alice tilted her head, “I thought you had practice doing that sort of thing, Santa. Why are you out of breath?” 

 

Santa’s eyes met hers and he bit his lip (or more like, his beard because it was all over the place). “Yours is my first chimney this year, darling Alice. So that’s why I’m still a bit out of shape,” he let out a merry laugh. “But it’s all muscle memory, you know. I get a little out of breath with the first one or two chimneys but then the rest is like riding a bicycle.” 

 

“But you don’t even know how to ride a bicycle,” Riddler interjected then quickly chuckled and shrugged apologetically when the other guests gave him a look of disapproval. “I only assume.” 

 

“Let’s see what we have here for you, Alice,” Santa said, changing the subject. He started digging in his sack of toys, looking for the right one. 

 

“Oh, but not just for me,” Alice said, beaming at the other guests. “You have to give toys to everyone here! They’ve all been very good this year, Santa!”  

 

Santa glanced at them all, the supervillains of Gotham. “Yes, sure. I’ll take your word for it, Alice. Let’s give them all gifts,” he said, checking the contents of the sack. “Let me see… Here’s a plush mouse for Kitty-Cat,” he gave the plush mouse to Catwoman who smirked with a purr when she noticed the diamond necklace around the toy’s neck. “Here’s a new pocket watch for daddy,” he pulled out a lovely pocket watch for Hatter. The gift made Jervis light up like a child at Christmas. “Here’s some seeds for the Plant lady to grow and take care of,” Ivy gently took the small bag of seeds and pressed it lovingly to her cheek. “A puzzle box for Mr. Riddler,” Santa continued, giving the grinning Riddler his puzzle box. “And last but not least, for papa,” Santa took a step closer to Jonathan Crane and added in a more hushed voice than before, “that special ingredient he needs for his special hobby.” Scarecrow smirked and gave Santa a nod of gratitude. His toxin would be perfectly horrific with  _ this  _ in it. Santa straightened his back again and smiled at Alice. “Now can I give you your gift? You’ve been so amazing throughout the entire year! I was very impressed with all your projects. Particularly that beautiful bird feeder you made for your uncle Penguin. That was very creative.” 

 

Alice nodded with a huge grin on her face. “I’m glad you like it, Santa. And yes, I’d like my gifts now!”  

 

Santa matched her huge grin with a big smile of his own and he took out the biggest gift in the sack. The girl’s eyes went wide and she instantly started unwrapping it with many excited little gasps and giggles until it was there for everyone to see. She looked at it in awe. 

 

“Oh, Santa!” Alice exclaimed. “It’s like you knew exactly what I wanted! Thank you so much! I love it! Thank you! Thank you!” She couldn’t contain her gratitude any longer and she threw her arms around Santa’s chubby belly. 

 

Santa smiled and hugged her back. “I’m happy you like it, darling Alice,” he said softly, heartfelt. “With these you can achieve anything you like. There’s no limit for you, dear, remember that.” She hugged him tighter one last time and then let him go. He laughed merrily. “Now I should go. Lot’s of houses to visit. Lots of presents to deliver.” And lots of chimneys…” 

 

Alice chuckled, imagining the old man sliding down a chimney again. “Of course,” she nodded. “I understand. But before you go! Eat some cookies, drink some milk? I’ve prepared them especially for you.” 

 

Santa was about to refuse but then he felt his stomach rumble a little and he thought a bit of food never harmed anyone. “I’ll take them for the road,” he said and collected all the cookies and milk as he headed for the door. “Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!”

 

“Wait. Aren’t you gonna use the chimney again?” Riddler asked with an amused smirk on his face. His puzzle box from Santa was still in his hands, his fingers carefully caressing it.  

 

Santa glared. “Teasing Santa like that might get you in the Naughty list,” he warned.

 

“Maybe  _ I don’t mind _ that,” Riddler said, still sounding quite amused even though Alice knew very well that the Naughty list was no joke! 

 

Santa didn’t seem particularly angry at Uncle Riddler for his teasing, rather the opposite really. They shared a look Alice didn’t understand but then Santa waved everyone goodbye and left through the door.  

 

“Well, that was surely unexpected, wasn’t it, Alice? Who knew Santa would be coming,” Jonathan said, smiling at his daughter. 

 

“It was amazing, papa! I’m so happy!” the girl said joyfully. “Do you like my present?” 

 

“Of course I do, sweetheart,” he reassured. “Let me see yours!” 

 

Although Jonathan took his gift to his lab almost instantly, the others didn’t mind showing off theirs to Alice. They all laughed and talked about the gifts and Christmas, sharing memories and telling jokes. Alice was so happy! And to make the evening even better, half an hour after Santa left Mr. Penguin showed up at the door. He was dressed impeccably as usual, cane in hand, top hat on his head, a dashing smile gracing his face and his monocle practically shining today. The little girl beamed at him the moment she saw him. 

 

“Sorry I’m late. I had to feed the birds,” he excused himself. 

 

“That doesn’t matter, uncle Penguin. I’m just happy you’re here!” she hugged him tightly. “You just missed Santa, though. You must be very sad.” 

 

Penguin gave her a solemn nod. “Very sad, indeed. But Santa’s an old friend of mine. So no worries.” 

 

The girl's eyes went wide. “He is?” 

 

“Oh, sure,” Penguin nodded with pride. “He’s a loyal customer at the Iceberg Lounge.” 

 

Jon gasped and grabbed Penguin tightly by the arm. “Why don’t you go play with your new gift, Alice?” he suggested to his daughter as he pulled Penguin to the side. “Santa’s a regular at your club? Are you insane?” he hissed. “How could you say that? You want her to think Santa’s a gangster!?” 

 

“He does dedicate a lot of his life to breaking into people’s houses,” Penguin shrugged casually. “Besides, I run a respectable establishment. Why wouldn’t Santa be a regular?”

 

Jon rolled his eyes. “Sure you do.” He glanced at Alice and saw how happy she was and that made him relax a little. “Thank you, Oswald,” he then said, turning back to his old friend. “I’ve been looking for that ingredient everywhere.” 

 

“So I’ve heard,” Penguin replied in the same hushed conspiratory fashion with a smile and a playful wink. “But don’t mention it. What are friends for?” 

 

Jervis joined them. “What are you talking about?” he asked cheerfully. 

 

“I was just thanking Oswald,” Jonathan said. 

 

“Ah! Excellent! I’m grateful too, for what you do. If it wasn’t for you Jon had to be the one dressing up as Santa. And can you imagine this old scarecrow climbing down the chimney!?” 

 

“Don’t mention it. I love Alice. Of course, I’d dress up for her. But you could’ve put away the fire in the fireplace, you know. I actually got a little burnt,” Penguin frowned, subtly rubbing at his backside. 

 

“We didn’t think you’d  _ actually use the chimney _ ,” Jervis said, showing his white pearly teeth. “Not that we didn’t love every moment of it.” 

 

Oswald Cobblepot laughed it off and went looking for his dear friend the Riddler who was snuggled into a corner finishing his puzzle box. 

 

“Os, you old bird! You hid a wedding ring in here!” Riddler exclaimed when he saw Penguin approach him. 

 

Oswald smirked, “I thought it was about time I made an honest man out of you.” 

 

Riddler pulled Oswald on his lap and kissed him gently as Oswald wrapped his arms around Edward’s neck. “Merry Christmas,” Ed whispered, smiling. 

 

“Merry Christmas,” Oswald replied, smiling back. 

 

“Do I get any more special gifts from Santa?” Ed teased. 

 

Oswald chuckled and bit back his grin as his cheeks flushed a little. “No. But there are a few from me…” 

 

All in all that was a Christmas Alice Crane-Tetch always remembered fondly as the first time she saw uncle Penguin dress up as Santa and climbing down a chimney for her. She found it amusing to pretend she didn’t recognize him. It wasn’t until years later when she was telling the story to her own children that she admitted she knew all along. After all, Alice Crane-Tetch was a clever girl. Like her fathers. 


End file.
